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Did SeaWorld polar bear Szenja die of a 'broken heart'?

Geordie Summers-Lubar, National Post

Thursday, April 20, 2017
1:39:33 EDT PM

In this handout photo provided by SeaWorld San Diego, Szenja chases after live trout at SeaWorldAE San Diegos Wild Arctic habitat on August 24, 2016 in San Diego, Calif. (Mike Aguilera/SeaWorld San Diego via Getty Images)

The beloved polar bear, Szenja, has died unexpectedly at SeaWorld in San Diego at the age of 21. Caregivers said Szenja had a loss of appetite and energy for about a week before it died.

According to PETA, Szenja “died of a broken heart.” For 20 years, Szenja had lived in the same enclosure with its best friend, Snowflake. But three months ago, Snowflake was shipped to the Pittsburgh Zoo for a breeding program.

Szenja was born at a zoo in Germany in 1995. Two years later, it was brought to SeaWorld when the park opened its Wild Arctic exhibit. In 1997, Snowflake was brought to live with Szenja from the Buffalo Zoo in New York. The pair lived together in the exhibit for 20 years.

“We’re proud to have been a part of (Szenja’s) life and to know that she inspired people from around the world to want to protect polar bears in the wild," SeaWorld spokesman Al Garver said in a statement.

Back in March, NBC San Diego reported that a petition to stop the separation of Szenja and Snowflake had received almost 45,000 signatures. But this was not enough to prevent Snowflake from being shipped to Pittsburgh in an attempt to breed more polar bears.

PETA hopes Szenja's death will be a “wake-up call” to SeaWorld to stop the practice of shipping animals over long distances and forcing them to breed.

Seaworld defended its breeding program as a form a protection for an at-risk species.

Spokesman David Koontz told the San Diego Union Tribune the “polar bear breeding effort keeps SeaWorld and the Pittsburgh Zoo at the forefront of wildlife conservation and education, and further demonstrates our commitment to conserve species in peril.”

But PETA claims SeaWorld’s real reason for the breeding program is commercial.

“SeaWorld is trying to sweep its true motive (having a baby at the park to attract visitors) under the rug while pretending to advocate conservation,” PETA says on the site.

A necropsy for Szenja is planned but the park said it could be several weeks before the cause of her death is known. In the wild, polar bears live to about 18 years, but in captivity they can survive 20 to 30 years or more.

Elsewhere in the country, the oldest polar bear in the United States, a female called Uulu, died last Friday at the San Francisco Zoo. Uulu was 36.